A deafening silence fell upon the village with no name, where once there had been roughhousing and rabble rousing there was now nothing but the exhausted pants of a new serial killer. She stared up at the sky over head as if waiting for rain fall to wash away the film of blood coating her from head to toe. No refreshing down pour came however and Valerie was left covered in the evidence of her slaughter. She slowly brought her hands up to her face and tried to wipe away some of the gore.
“Dammit.”
She exclaimed after adding yet more to her scarlet red skin. Her steady hands were dripping with blood from many sources, herself and those strewn around her. With her hazy mind returning to her she finally noticed the carnage she had wrought. There were bodies everywhere, hacked up and left haphazardly such that she couldn’t begin to guess how many people she had just killed.
“Good.”
Her sentiment from earlier remained unchanged, these creatures appeared human but were no less monstrous in spirit. Unlike her first kill, she felt not even a shred of remorse or guilt at her actions this was simply something she had to do. She was a member of the Adventure’s Guild and had a duty to exterminate monsters whenever possible although that wasn’t the only reason as she had come to realize. Ending the lives of monsters had always brought a sick satisfaction to her and she finally figured out it wasn’t the hunt that intrigued her nor the reward or the sense of accomplishment or anything remotely noble. She simply liked reaping the lives of something less than her. The idea of bringing some great and ferocious creature low, breaking down its resilience, and finally executing it made her giddy like nothing else. It was a wonder she never received the aspect of murder or torture if such a thing existed. They did indeed, however those who acquired such titles were far worse than the huntress. Even if she enjoyed the act, her actions could still be construed as positive for her community. This hoard of bandits for example, while some could have been redeemed after serving time, ultimately no one was worse off with their complete removal. It was not a fact she used to justify her actions, just a convenient truth that made her victory all the sweeter.
Despite her acceptance that Valerie Hunt was a killer she would not go about murdering randomly. She needed worthwhile targets or those who served no purpose, a prey upon which she could feast so to speak. Joanne for example fit the former but not the latter as she was a trusted ally and de facto mother figure to the huntress. Fandrial The Gentle Sword on the other hand was a perfect target, even if she was the number one weapon in the Gentile Kingdom’s arsenal, her station just made her all the more enticing to the young psychopath. A wide, cracked smile spread across her face as she imagined the look on that elf’s face when the two met again. There was no telling when, unfortunately, and Valerie decided even if she somehow encountered her this second, she wouldn’t do anything untoward right away. The Royal Captain had a task she needed to see through and tearing her down the moment she accomplished her ill-fated goal would be icing on the blood coated cake.
“Hehehehehe-ckakghlk!”
She laughed to herself and then abruptly stopped as something caught in her throat. She pounded at her chest and eventually spit up a pair of hard objects into her hand. Peering down at the choking hazards, one appeared to be a tooth, most likely and hopefully her own, while the other was… a shard of glass? Searching around she found a pair of potion bottles smashed on the ground near her knife. She didn’t even realize Tiger’s Will wasn’t with her, tossed aside as she finished off her last opponent by pummelling his face into the ground. Both of the bottles appeared to have had their contents drained at some point during the fight and rather than take time to remove the stopper, Valerie had opted instead to bite through the glass.
“…okay, maybe that’s not good.”
Although a mild time saver, she had to admit that chewing through glass just to get at the revitalizing concoction inside probably wasn’t a good sign. It did mean any cuts in her mouth would also be quickly healed but the last thing she needed was a sliver of glass getting fused into her gums. Taking a good look at herself, she found several more wounds still dripping with blood and showing no signs of closing. Thankfully her armour held and while it was damaged in some spots, she was much better off because of it. She was still not in perfect condition however and wondered if Samantha would let her borrow a potion or two before they got back to town. On cue as always, the shadow user appeared from out of the huntress’s field of view. She walked over, picked up Tiger’s Will and approached the blood coated warrior without the slightest hesitation.
“Did you have fun?”
She asked while handing off the crimson blade. Valerie took her favourite weapon, her eyes drawn to the sharp edge and a single triangular chip along the cutting side. It caused her to flare up with anger once again until she forcibly calmed herself down, the weapon could always be repaired, there was no serious harm done.
“Yeah, I did. I really needed to let all that out.”
She admitted to her friend who smiled widely and made to pat Valerie on the back but paused at the outrageous amount of blood staining the huntress.
“Aw screw it.”
Without warning, Samantha wrapped Valerie in a pathetically weak, but heart felt hug. The huntress was puzzled by the display but did not try to fight her off. It felt nice to be held by someone she cared about without reservation. Today had been exhausting for them both and they needed a moment to just relax and not think about anything else. They stood like that for some time, the slick gore still clinging to Valerie slowly seeping into Samantha’s new outfit ruining it. Unfortunately, like all good things, the embrace had to end as the pair heard sounds coming from the distance. They seperated and listened carefully for the disturbance some ways off. Wiping her knife on her clothes, Valerie addressed her friend while offering a hand.
“Let’s finish this and go home.”
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The shadow user agreed wholeheartedly and took the offered hand.
“Let’s!”
Searching the town, the pair eventually found the last of the bandits huddled tightly into a group surrounding a single robe wearing man. He was Harry’s right-hand and the only magic caster within the company. He and his men avoided the slaughter by virtue of the second in command “receiving a premonition” which was a fancy way of saying they found a leftover shipment of Dragon’s Teeth and disappeared to get high. If the caster had been around or if the band had invested in hiring more spell slingers it is possible their organization might not have been dismantled so savagely. The crowd of ruffians surrounding the lieutenant shared this opinion and stuck close to their new acting leader. They all heard the frightened screams of their comrades, and some saw the slaughter through gaps in the chains, a sight they would never quite forget. The small group tried to make a hasty and quiet exit, but they were physically and mentally tripping over themselves during their escape leading to one of them making too much noise.
Instead of running for their lives they foolishly decided to stand and fight, not for their fallen brethren but because fleeing would just make them easier to pick off. Although they would never know it, had they opted to run like cowards their pursuers likely wouldn’t have given chase. The bandit group was effectively done for, and the contract fulfilled thus neither adventurer had any reason to finish them off. Even Valerie didn’t care about the thieves anymore having worked out her rage and affirmed her own resolve. The duo wouldn’t let them off now however as the leftovers interrupted a tender moment and for these two that was reason enough to snuff out the bandits entirely.
The remnants noticed their pursuers come around a corner, a pair of scarlet coated nightmares, and formed a loose phalanx around the magic caster using their bodies as shields. So far, the pair of adventurers had faced melee orientated combatants, and neither was sure how to deal with a sorcerer. Common knowledge dictated that breaking their concentration worked with disrupting spells but surely Samantha’s terror field would do the trick already.
“Feuerbolzen!”
Evidentially not as a ball of flaming fury came hurtling towards the duo at a breakneck speed. Magic naturally countered magic and so Samantha summoned numerous chains within the projectiles path diminishing the attack until it puffed out a foot away from the pair.
“Feuerbolzen, Feuerbolzen, Feuerbolzen!”
It was not the last of the casters ammunition however as several more balls of fire flew in their direction. Ducking behind a wall, they narrowly avoided the sudden onslaught although one stray bolt singed the end of Samantha’s cloak.
“Hey, watch it! This is a new cloak!”
“Really?”
Valerie asked indignant on the bandit’s behalf to which Samantha could only shrug. With so many firebolts coming their way there was no way for the shadow user to block them all. She thought about calling up her new buddy but knew that was a bad idea as she was already running on fumes. Summoning him once took nearly every drop of mana she had and doing so again would push her into dangerous near fatal areas. She might have had time to accumulate more mana had she not trapped the majority of the bandits in her domain earlier as well as providing support to the huntress when needed. It left her with few options, but she did have enough for one last play as a hasty plan formed in her head. It was undoubtedly a stroke of brilliance or madness depending on your point of view.
“Psst Val, wanna try for a Bang Bang?”
Ducking back after failing to get an angle for a throw, Valerie peered questioningly at Samantha.
“Now? They’ll just hit you with more magic.”
“Not if I’m out of reach.”
The huntress listened to her accomplice’s plan and grinned maliciously; it might not work perfectly but it would be a sight to see. For this reason, she tapped into the last monster power stored within Tiger’s Will. For weeks she saved the essence of Whitebone for a special occasion but finishing off these urchins would be worth it.
“Alright, on the count of three. One”
“Two.”
“Three!”
The pair finished in tandem as an empowered Valerie gripped onto Samantha and threw her high into the air for all to see. She rocketed through the sky, her cheeks and eyelids flapping wildly from the rush of air, while a glee filled yell followed after her. The sudden appearance of the shadow user drew the remaining bandit’s attention, and the caster immediately began firing mystical fire balls in her direction. Fortunately, she was moving far too fast for any to come close to hitting her. After reaching more than a hundred metres into the air, Samantha finally began to slow and lose all her momentum. When gravity reclaimed its hold on her, she flung open her cloak while forcing chains to extend out and turn the ragged cloth into a makeshift hang glider. It did little to slow her fall yet with her position directly in front of the descending sun it did its job casting a large shadow over the gathered thieves. The magic caster redoubled his efforts to land a hit on the falling girl, but the distance was too great for his spells to reach. As Samantha began to rapidly fall, she extended her arm out with her palm facing the bandits and focused her eery aura. The gambit had all been for this, stealing the entire groups attention for one last mental assault. With righteous pride filling her voice she yelled out her latest attack.
“Get ready for Samantha’s Big Bang Attack!”
Immediately following her odd proclamation, a heavily concentrated wave of fear fell upon the gathered men striking at their hearts and minds even causing some to fall to their knees. Receiving the signal loud and clear, Valerie rushed out from behind cover and reared back with Tiger’s Will aiming directly for the centre of the phalanx. As her arm came hurtling forward with the full might of her aspect, the power of an Alpha and as much mana as she could shove into the tiny blade the huntress felt it appropriate to call out her attack.
“TURNABOUT SLASH!”
Magic was a funny thing as most spells couldn’t be used without a chant or announcement first. This rule was broken when it came to aspect users, however they could still name repeat or special skills to give them an extra boost of power. Like with a class, it was the internal magic at work granting the skill increased effectiveness based on the user’s thoughts and feelings. With her newfound resolve and using the name her friend so lovingly gave the move; Valerie’s attack broke all previous records in the huntress’s short monster hunting career. The knife tore through the air shattering windows in its wake and sending its owner flying back. The blade cut through anything and everything in its path as it flew and while she couldn’t hear at the moment from a ringing in her ears, Valerie swore she felt a distinct and familiar roar emanate from Tiger’s Will.
The empowered weapon crashed through the group as well as several buildings behind them and skipped along the next the street over before landing upright some distance away, spotless and gleaming as the day it was named. The force with which the knife had been thrown completely negated any curvature meaning it failed to fulfil its round trip to return to its master, although that may have been for the best. The targets for the skill were suffering greatly as several were left bleeding from their ears due to the shockwave, one was missing eight fingers, and another couldn’t find his arm. The magic caster at the centre felt fine for a second until the lack of an upper torso caught up to him.
Samantha watched the decimated group attempt to disperse and fail miserably due to their terrible state, it was so ridiculous she might have laughed, were she not been tumbling towards the earth that is. She would have taken a second to ponder her current predicament and the best or worst ways to land were it not for Valerie leaping to her rescue, quite literally in fact. The huntress used her empowered state to jump a considerable distance and catch the falling girl before landing roughly against the ground. They collapsed into a heap similar to the bandits except significantly better off.
“That… was awesome. Let’s do it again.”
Despite all logic, it was not Samantha who uttered these words but Valerie chuckling to herself as the effects of the monster power faded from her. Samantha ofcourse absolutely agreed as she joined her friend in a fit of pained, joyful laughter. The tragic wailing from not too far away ruined the moment, however.
“Quit your whining! We’re in the middle of something here!”
The huntress demanded shaking her fist at the sorry bunch of whiners.
“Haaaaah…We should probably just end things. I’m kinda hungry.”
Samantha suggested feeling at her stomach, spending a week in the deep jail hadn’t made her famished but using up all her mana within a short period certainly did.
“Yeah, me too. Let’s end this and go home.”
Valerie rose up and stalked over to the broken phalanx, its members tried desperately to crawl away but try as they might the huntress was not denied her hunt. Unfortunate for them that she did not currently have her weapon and was forced to use less savoury methods.